U3

MONEY

VOLUNTEERING

Neighbor Ride  is a non-profit organization that helps senior citizens in Howard County by providing volunteer-base transportation. Every senior citizen in the area can enjoy the full benefits of being connected to people, services and activities that add meaning and value to their lives, as you can see in the video we watched in class this week. For more vocabulary on volunteering you can also surf the Neighbor Ride site above.

After watching the video, you can read the text below about "volunteering" and fill in the gaps with the words below.

rates    hand    deeds    chances    according    effects    way    longevity    beneficial    first    cause    review    sense    establish    separate    factors

Volunteering can make you happier and help you live longer, (1) ____________ to a new study. A research paper published on Friday in the journal BMC Public Health says doing good (2) ____________for others boosts your mental health and increases your (3) ____________. Researchers from the UK's University of Exeter reviewed 40 academic papers into the (4) ____________of volunteerism on our health. They found that volunteers had lower (5) ____________of depression, an increased sense of well-being, and a 22 per cent reduction in the (6) ____________of dying within the next seven years. Australians lead the (7) ____________in volunteering, with an estimated 36 per cent of the population lending a (8) ____________. 

Lead researcher Dr Suzanne Richards said: "Our systematic (9) ____________shows that volunteering is associated with improvements in mental health, but more work is needed to (10) ____________whether volunteering is actually the (11) ____________." She added: "It is still unclear whether biological and cultural (12) ____________and social resources that are often associated with better health and survival are also associated with a willingness to volunteer in the (13) ____________place." In a (14) ____________study from the University of Michigan, researchers suggested three reasons why volunteering may be (15) ____________. First, it involves physical activity; second, the social connections we make help to reduce our stress; and third, it gives us a deep (16) ____________of happiness.

If you think you have problems with talking about volunteering in English, here is a list of the most common words and also the test on volunteer vocabulary we did in class.

US CHARITY DONATIONS REBOUND

Here is the video we watched in class. Try to answer the questions again:

1. What donated items does the Arlington Food Assistance Programme deliver to the elderly each week?
2. How many people are in need of donations?
3. How much money was raised in Arlington last year?
4. Why has the salvation aremy seen a decline in donations in the past few years?
5. How do thrift stores help people in need?
6. What will charitable organizations have to do if donations don´t pick back up this year?

If you missed the class but know the answers, please write them in the comments section below and either your classmates or I will correct them for you!!

PRESENT PERFECT: FORM AND USES

Have a look at the British Council website to revise the use of the present perfect in English. Then you can try the BBC challenge again!!

In this unit, we have also had a look at the difference between "been" or "gone" in the present perfect. Make sure you understand it using this website and try the quiz in class!!


Finally, study the difference between JUST, ALREADY and YET and practise it here.
 
SHOPPING

Here are some English words for different kinds of shops and businesses. Read through the vocabulary list at your own pace and then try some of the quizzes about shops and shopping on the menu above.

SHOPPING IN THE BIG APPLE

Follow my advice in class and try to hear the words in bold we learned with this listening activity. Can you identify all of them in the clip?

     

a. trendy	1. famous	1	c
b. staircase	2. shopping centre	2	d
c. legendary	3. the cost of something	3	e
d. mall	4. a store that sells a wide variety of       products	4	h
e. price	5. to negotiate	5	f
f. haggle	6. something bought at a cheap price	6	g
g. bargain	7. a series of steps for moving from one     level to another	7	b
h. emporium	8. fashionable and popular	8	a

LONDON SHOPPING

This is a video quiz about the Westfield Shopping Centre in London. Click on the page button to watch the video and scroll down the page to do the quiz.

SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES

Click here and go to listening exercise 13 to listen to Esther talking about what women in the Philippines like to wear. The questions are on the photocopy I gave you in class this week.

GRAMMAR 1: VERY VS. TOO

The difference here is not so difficult.... or is it? If you are not sure, remember "too" suggests there is a problem. "Very" is just a fact. So, "too" is not usually used with positive adjectives, unless there is a special meaning. Try this website to test your knowledge!!

GRAMMAR 2: COUNTABLE VS. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

English learners of all levels sometimes struggle with countable and uncountable nouns. Although most people understand that 'water' and 'bread' are uncountable, how about 'advice', 'equipment', 'luggage'...? I would like you to take the challenge and increase your knowledge of the concept in English!!


GRAMMAR 3: QUANTIFIERS

	COUNTABLE	UNCOUNTABLE
More than necessary/ more than it is good/more than you want	TOO MANY There are too many cats in this school (8!)	TOO MUCH Bill Gates has too much money
Large quantities	A LOT (OF) LOTS OF (PLENTY OF) He eats a lot of burgers. He drinks a lot.
What you need/want	ENOUGH (PLENTY OF) They have enough money to go on holiday. I didn’t get bored. I had plenty of books to read.
More than one	SOME ANY (in interrogative sentences) We need some flour to make this cake. Is there any orange juice in the fridge?
Small quantities  (positive meaning)	A FEW We have a few eggs. Let’s make a pie.	A LITTLE / A BIT OF We have a little money left this month. Why don’t we go to a restaurant?
Small quantities (negative meaning)	FEW He didn’t have many friends. Few people attended his funeral.	LITTLE There is very little butter in the fridge. We need to buy some to make pancakes.
Zero	NO    ANY (in negative sentences) We have no flour. We have no chairs. We don’t have any flour. We don’t have any chairs.

Are you interested in learning more about quantifiers in English? Try this new quiz!

UNIT 3: WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Here is the writing task for this unit. Don´t forget previous preparation is necessary, so have a look at the guidelines we worked with in class before you start writing. You can also use the writing section in your workbook to make a successful piece of writing!!

Here is an extra writing task for this unit. Don´t forget previous preparation is necessary, so have a look at the guidelines we worked with in class before you start writing and click here if you want to go one step further!!.